On the importance of the vertical radiation pattern on simulations of WSNs

Applications of wireless sensor networks have nowadays expanded their technical requirements. One of them is the form how nodes are distributed, from random positions to a predetermined location of nodes. In this concern, those applications that require a specific planning of position of nodes usually consider simple characteristics of the antenna radiation pattern (an isotropic pattern, for instance). Depending on the particular application, nodes can be located not only at different distances from each other, but also at different heights, which could introduce less gain due to the vertical pattern of the antenna. Thus, this paper addresses the importance of considering the vertical radiation pattern of antennas on simulations of wireless sensor networks, when nodes have a fixed position. By taking a commercial antenna and its measured radiation pattern, an evaluation of the achieved gain and its impact on a link budget is presented.